Category Archives: Basketball

After playing in London England on Thursday, the Boston Celtics have received five days off to recover from jet lag. They’ll be at home on Tuesday, when they host the New Orleans Pelicans.

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The Pelicans are coming off a win in New York on Sunday afternoon, moving to 22-20 on the season (22-19-1 ATS). They have some momentum right now as they’ve won two straight games and seven of their last 11. Although they’re just 11-11 on the road this season, they’ve won four of their last six away games.

The Celtics, meanwhile, are 34-10 (27-15-2 ATS) after a 114-103 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in London where they came back from a 22-point deficit. Shooting guard Jaylen Brown put up 21 points, while point guard Kyrie Irving added 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Celtics. Boston is on a roll again, entering Tuesday’s game on a seven-game winning streak. They look like legitimate title contenders (+800 futures), even without the injured Gordon Hayward.

The two teams have split their last 10 meetings straight up, with Boston winning five of the last six. The Celtics covered in six of those games. As for the total, six of the games went under.

Posted by Efrain Valerio on December 19, 2016

The NBA betting action is on and this week, fans have multiple options to cash in and get in the money. So as part of our weekly series, we bring pro hoops fans a selection of games that offer great value for your parlay action. So let’s get started! Top NBA Parlay Picks

On Tuesday, December 20th, the two NBA teams from Florida hook up in Miami. When these two play it always adds a small element of rivalry to the game. Orlando has been quite the mystery this season. They are playing really good basketball on the road, but struggle to win at home. Miami is down quite a bit this year and missing the leadership of Dwyane Wade. Look for Orlando to score points in bunches in this game and the presence of Biyombo, Ibaka and Vucevic should be able to hold down Whiteside of the Heat. The first pick on our parlay card for the week is the Orlando Magic over the Miami Heat on Tuesday.

The next leg of our parlay card is in New Orleans on Wednesday night. Russell Westbrook is playing out of his mind for the Thunder. He is a triple double machine and really carrying the Thunder to a 16-11 record. But on the other side, Anthony Davis is a force and the Pelicans play better ball at home. They started the season out rough, but are slowly coming around. Look for Davis to be too much for the Thunder in this game. Bet two for this weeks parlay is the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.

Our third pick for the week comes on the Thursday Night TNT game of the night. The Los Angeles Clippers will host the 22-5 San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs just continue to win in “non-flashy” ways. Kawhi Leonard leads the way and does a little bit of everything. But the Clippers have a two headed monster in Chris Paul and Blake Griffin that should be able to handle the Spurs attack. Look for the Clippers to be very motivated to prove themselves in this game. The third pick in the weekly parlay card is the LA Clippers on Thursday.

The fourth pick is a pretty easy one. Golden State should absolutely crush the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. Detroit plays decent ball at home which could make these odds a little closer than they should be. Look for Steph Curry and Kevin Durant to really lead the way to a Warriors double digit win. Put the Warriors as the fourth team in this week’s parlay. Top NBA Parlay Picks

The fifth and final pick for this weeks parlay card is the San Antonio Spurs. The Chicago Bulls go on the road, on Christmas Day, to face the San Antonio Spurs. The Bulls are playing terrible basketball as of late, while the Spurs continue to win. The only problem with the Spurs is sometimes they “rest” their players. Well, it’s Christmas Day and I don’t see any reason they will rest guys. Spurs roll on Christmas and make up our fifth team in the weekly parlay card. Good luck with your parlay bets this week at MyBookie!

There are plenty of different tips that professional handicappers use when advising bettors to wager in the betting lines, and one of the constantly recurring themes in most betting forums is that gamblers should keep away from myths. Here, we aren’t preaching a different gospel; we are all for shunning most of these myths. I mean, why would I believe these constant talks about sportsbooks fixing games with players and teams when I practically live off the money I make every day in my betting endeavors? Yes, I know games are rigged, like the way New England’s Tom Brady liaised with whoever to do whatever on his footballs in that game against the Colts, but to the best of my knowledge—and I know a lot—there is no sportsbook that is yet to be implicated in that Deflategate scandal. Just think of it, if Brady knew that he’d get a lot of advantage from underinflated balls, don’t you think he’d have conspired with a handful of sportsbook odds to benefit from it being the “winner” that he is? Anyway, that’s besides what I am trying to put across; my point is that most myths are useless and time-wasting, but some of them—like the ones detailed below—are actually true.

While teams strengths, the manner in which they play and issues such as injuries and suspensions influence betting lines; most line movements are largely based on the public betting action and opinions, along with Wiseguy money. This is also true for popular teams like the Golden State Warriors in the NBA or the New England Patriots in the NFL, who tend attract a lot of action on sportsbooks as favorites, with the market pounding hard on them and often leading to a drop in their lines. Insane Betting Myths

Most Gamblers Bet the OVER

There’s probably nothing insane about this, but to think that over 70 percent of recreational bettors, especially those who are new to the betting world, I are estimated to bet on OVER is just plain crazy. With so much money spent on sports like basketball, soccer and hockey on the defensive side of the ball, you’d expect bettors to at least consider that defenses will figure in games and lead to a number of UNDERs. Fortunately or unfortunately, research has it that most people love high-scoring games and that often influences their betting decisions, as they channel their expectations into the betting lines and wager mostly on the OVER, even in instances that it is ill-advised to do so. But then again, you wouldn’t really blame these bettors, would you? I mean, with players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo known to be goal-machines in soccer and the likes of Stephen Curry known to light it up in the NBA, your mind can easily be wired to expect high-scores whenever such players take to the field. Insane Betting Myths

Going by the competitive nature of sports in the Pros, going on long winnings streaks or keeping certain trends intact is usually very hard. In college sports, it’s the exact opposite, with most dominant teams staying dominant year-in, year-out while the underwhelming schools continue to struggle, irrespective of roster turnovers. A good example here is the Florida State Seminoles football team that won 29 straight games between 2012–2014, including a national championship in the 2012-13 season. The other example is the Kansas Jayhawks basketball team that hasn’t won the national championship since 2008, but boasts of a ridiculous 206–9 ( .958) win record at their home court, the Allen Fieldhouse, under head coach Bill Self, a record that includes win streaks of 69, 33, and a currently-active streak of 40 entering the 2016 season. When you play Kansas at home, it is therefore almost given that the Jayhawks will be winning that game.

First Games in the Pro Leagues are Risky to Bet On
On one hand, the fact that teams are often in transition during the preseason or at the start of the season comes with the advantage that you can find lines that aren’t so sharp, which can lead to good profits. On the other hand, surprises come aplenty during the start of the season, including false-starters, underrated teams playing well and overrated teams underwhelming with iffy performances. As such, it is advisable to be keep away from these lines—like NBA and NFL preseason—unless you are really sure that you’ve covered your bases.

Insane Betting Myths

College Basketball March Madness is here and by all accounts it is looking like it is going to be pretty chalky. With that in mind I am going to take a look at the top seeds: Kentucky, Duke, Villanova and Wisconsin and see who has the easiest path to the Final Four based on overall competition and potential matchups. There is no doubt Kentucky is the favourite but has their top overall seeding cleared the path for them even more?

As the top seed the Wildcats are supposed to have the clearest path and I think the committee has achieved that. The second seed in their bracket is Kansas, a team they creamed early in the season and the third seed is Notre Dame, a quality team but one that lacks the size and depth to give Kentucky a game. Wichita State is there which will bring up some fun historical references but this year’s team is not as good as last year’s. The teams that have the most intrigue for me are Texas and Purdue because both have enough size to pose a threat. The Longhorns played them tough but are inconsistent overall and Purdue might not even get by Cincinnati to face them in the round of 32. This is a nice slate for UK.

Duke Blue Devils:

I believe Duke was considered the third overall seed which is why they are in the South and not the East. They have been impressive this season but I think they might have the toughest slog to get to the Final Four. In the round of 32 they are likely to face a San Diego State team that is long and has one of the top defenses in America. It is just not really Duke’s style to gut a game out but they might have to. Also, on the bottom of the bracket you have Gonzaga and Iowa State, two teams that I probably would have put in the Final Four were they not in the same corner of the grid. Throw in wild cards like Utah and Stephen F. Austin and I think half of this region is capable of bringing down the Blue Devils.

Villanova:

Villanova is the top seed in the East. Since I am not a big Virginia fan I think they could have an easy time of it…if they can get past their second round game against the winner of LSU vs. NC State. Both of those teams are capable with hanging with any team in the tournament and have proved it in their respective leagues this season. Other than those programs I am not too concerned with the likes of Louisville and Northern Iowa. A sleeper could be Michigan State who has chosen the right time of year to be playing their best ball. The East Region is pretty light.

Wisconsin:

I know this kind of thing happens a lot but it is weird to see Wisconsin as the top seed in the West. They definitely did not do the Badgers any favours by putting the most obvious team – Arizona – out there too and there are definitely others that could put a scare in the Badgers if they get a chance. North Carolina finished the season very strong and has the size and depth to push Wisconsin, so does Arkansas out of the SEC. Finally, if BYU is able to make a run from their spot in the First Four I think they would be an interesting opponent for all of the aforementioned teams. They beat Gonzaga on the road to close the regular season and they play at a fast pace.